Israeli Navy to be geared with world’s most advanced 3D radar systems

Jerusalem, Feb 27 : The Israeli Navy on Tuesday gave contract to ELTA Systems Ltd., a group and subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for supplying the world’s most advanced radar systems for the new Sa’ar 6 warships.

The ELM-2248 MF-STARs multi-function digital radar systems produced by ELTA Systems are based on the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology.

It allows for faster threat alert response time, as well as better accuracy and the ability to simultaneously track multiple targets and different types of targets, providing a full situational awareness picture to the ship.

Yoav Tourgeman, IAI VP and CEO of ELTA said " The MF-STAR was designed from the ground up with innovative and reliable technologies, based on our experience of over half a century of producing and deploying a vast array of radar systems, The Jerusalem Post reported.

According to Gil Roth, director of naval systems, land and naval radars and systems division at ELTA, “the radar sensor is the most important sensor on the ship, it provides most of the data for the ship’s awareness, and tells what’s going on from on the ship itself to hundreds of kilometers away.”

“It’s the world’s most advanced 3D digital radar system,” he told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, explaining that it shows all relevant targets and threats, including missile, enemy ships and drones and their velocities. When confronted by incoming threats, the radar rapidly provides all relevant data to all weapons systems on board.

While the system has also been installed on the Sa’ar 5, the system which will be installed on the Sa’ar 6 will be larger and will provide enhanced performance in detection range and accuracy.

The digital capability of the radar enables it to be software controlled and very easily upgraded,” Roth explained, adding that “if there’s a new threat in the environment the Israel Navy and Elta can very easily change the system to handle new threats.

The construction of the four Sa’ar 6 warships was agreed to in a 430 million euro deal between Israel and the German company ThyssenKrupp in 2015. The first ship is expected to arrive at the end of 2019 with the last by 2021 and will defend Israel’s offshore natural gas reserves as well as other strategic maritime assets.

According to the military, the new Sa’ar 6 will also maintain “Israel’s sovereignty in the near and far seas, destroying the enemy’s war fleets and significantly contributing to complex and secret missions in the war-between-war campaign.”UNI